We are becoming increasingly aware of the likely environmental effects of climate change: rising sea levels, more frequent and more severe storms, prolonged heat spells and droughts, and so on. Less is known, however, about the social and political implications of climate change. Yet these impacts - flooded communities, desiccated croplands, species loss, and others - are the ones most likely to affect human life and social cohesion. This course will consider the likely impacts of climate change on human communities, including the potential for mass migrations, state collapse, resource wars, and ethnic strife. Each student will be expected to study a particular aspect of these effects and explore what can be done to reduce its most severe human impacts.